Requesting Mother Nature
by SophStratt
Summary: Dr Alexandra Cosmos is one of the last active founding members of SHIELD, and Fury calls her in from her vacation to utilize her skill set - she can control the elements. She was created by the Olympian Gods to protect the Earth and has done for thousands of years, but this time she'll have help from a new team she'll be a founding member of...the Avengers.
1. Bruce Banner

Fury had called her in. So here she was. On a helicarrier, waiting for orders. She couldn't believe it. Clint was compromised. Clint Barton. Hawkeye. That's all Fury had told her when he called her back from her small vacation time.

She was sitting at the table just behind Fury's viewing station, her eyes closed. She must look pretty odd, considering she wasn't wearing her usual suit. Everyone had seen her in her tight green cat suit, not too similar to her best friend's suit, Black Widow.

Alexandra was different to everyone else. She had powers. Her codename was 'Mother Nature', because she could control the elements. Fire, Earth, Water, Air…all under her control. Yet that wasn't all she could do. She had super strength, increased intelligence, increased speed, the ability to fly and heal surface wounds faster than the human race, not to mention immortality. She wasn't a mutant though. Alexandra had been created by the Greek gods for the Earth. Her name meant 'Defender of Mankind' in Greek.

She'd been hired by S.H.I.E.L.D when the group had first started (though she barely looked a day past twenty) to use her powers to protect mankind under the governments guidance. She'd worked with Natasha (Black Widow), and Clint (Hawkeye), since she had recruited them, taking out threats to the human race. She was closer to Clint than Natasha. They had an understanding. Both Alexandra and Clint secretly craved a connection that only the other could provide, but they weren't together. It was purely physical for the both of them. There was no denying that there was a lot of affection between the two S.H.I.E.L.D agents, but neither of them would admit to love. That was a luxury neither of them could afford.

Now, Clint was being used as an Asgardian gods lap-dog, and Alexandra was pissed. She was unable to contact the Olympian gods, nor the Asgardian gods, and that made her even more pissed. When they caught Loki, she would replace the blood in his body with a fire that would torment him until he died from the excruciating pain.

Alexandra was torn from her morbid thoughts by the footsteps of people approaching where she was sitting. Her eyes snapped open, and she saw Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner. She'd read their files on her tablet on her journey to the base.

Fury approached them, taking the ten dollars the Captain wordlessly offered him, before approaching Banner, knowing that Alexandra was scrutinising his every move.

"Doctor, thank you for coming." Fury said, holding his hand out to shake Banner's.

"Thank you for asking nicely. So how long am I staying?" Banner asked. Alexandra scrutinised him. He seemed like a nervous man. His body language gave that away; he would rub his hands together, constantly distribute his weight from foot to foot, and his eyes darted every where. He certainly looked like a man who had spent some of his life on the run from the U.S Army.

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the wind." Fury replied, sounding honest. Alexandra knew better. Fury needed Banner for more than just locating the cube. He also secretly wanted the giant green monster Banner could turn into when provoked.

"Where are you with that?" Banner asked.

Fury pointed over at Coulson, who, along with Hill, was supervising the other agents while they searched the globe for Barton, Loki, Doctor Selvig and the Tesseract.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible computer on the planet. Cell phones, laptops…" Coulson trailed off. Alexandra's eyes lapsed on Natasha, who had bent down to look at one of the screens that had Clint's face on.

"If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

"That's still not going to find them in time." Natasha said.

"You have to narrow your field," Banner said. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

"Call every laboratory you know," Banner instructed Coulson, as he shrugged off his jacket. "Tell them to put the spectrometers up on the roof, and calibrate them for gamma rays."

Banner kept talking, but Alexandra's eyes had narrowed onto the screen with Clint's face on and she'd zoned out, thinking about what he was doing now. She knew that when she found him, and beaten the mind control from him, he'd probably hate himself for whatever he managed to do whilst under it. And she'd be there for him: friend, lover, confidant…whatever he needed.

"Agent Cosmos, could you show Dr Banner to his laboratory, please? Agent Cosmos will be working alongside you, Dr Banner. She has PhDs in astrophysics, applied science, astronomy, quantum mechanics, and psychology. She'll be a lot of use to you."

Alexandra climbed to her feet, and noticed that Captain America had suddenly decided to look her over. She was wearing a green goddess-inspired dress, a white lab coat, and black lace-up stiletto boots that stopped at her ankle. In her hand was her tablet, which she never let out of her sight when she wasn't away on missions.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys." Alexandra said, brushing past Fury, and gesturing for Banner to follow her.

When she walked through the hall to the lab, she noticed the barely hushed whispering by all the agents she passed. They knew that she was highly skilled at what she did, temperamental, as unpredictable as the weather and deadly. Most of all deadly. They were as afraid of her as they were Agent Romanoff. The whispering didn't escape Banner's notice, but he didn't say anything until they were in the lab.

"What's with all the whispering and terrified looks, Doctor Cosmos? I thought they were aimed at me, until I noticed they…weren't." Banner said, as Alexandra showed him all the gadgets they had at their exposal.

Alexandra sighed. She'd been hoping to avoid this, but she might as well explain to someone who gets it.

"I'm one of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents. I'm dangerous. And the other agents don't have the clearance to know exactly what I can do. They know that Agent Romanoff is skilled with a gun and knives and can manipulate anyone into telling her what she needs to know. They know that Agent Barton is the best archer this world has seen. They don't know exactly what I'm capable of. Just whispers." Alexandra explained, connecting her computer to her tablet in case she got called away.

"So what are you capable of?" Banner asked, as he started his own work.

"I'm not really good with my temper. Makes it worse when I can control the elements. My codename is Mother Nature. And I'm just as unpredictable. That makes me deadly." Alexandra said, keeping her eyes away from the doctor as she started calibrating the spectrometers using the giant touch screen monitor.

"I know how that feels," Bruce said, shaking his head. "How'd you get your powers?"

"I was created, Doctor Banner, by Olympian Gods to protect this planet from itself. That mission is proving…difficult."

"You were created? By Gods?"

"Yes. Zeus loves this planet. Loves the human race. He wants it protected from internal and external threats. Thus, I was created, and given the power to control the elements which, at the time, were my most useful weapons. As time has passed, technology improved, I found myself looking for help in saving this planet. That's when S.H.I.E.L.D stepped in. They were looking for individuals to become the first S.H.I.E.L.D team after World War II. I was recruited, and became a founding member. They sent me on missions, honed my skills with a gun and with knives. But my favourite way to kill someone was something I'd perfected. Nature is cruel, and I was crueller," Alexandra said, turning to face Bruce, a stoic expression removing any emotion from her face. "I was the one who recruited Barton. And while I trained him, sanded down his rough edges and made him a great agent, he helped me get a lid on my own anger. He's the closest thing I have to a best friend. I'm looking for the Tesseract, so I can take down Loki and bring Barton back to where he belongs."

"With S.H.I.E.L.D or with you? You talk as though you have feelings for him?" Banner prodded into her personal life. He knew he shouldn't of, but the words somehow managed to tumble out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"I'm not allowed the luxury of love, Doctor Banner. My life isn't exactly simple."

"No one's ever is."

"How about we find this Tesseract, huh, Doc?"


	2. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers

About an hour after Doctor Banner and Alexandra had started focalising their search for the cube, Fury called them up to the bridge again. They'd gotten Loki into custody, and while Fury went and made sure he was detained in the glass cage created for 'The Hulk', Alexandra, Bruce, Steve, Natasha, Agent Hill and new arrival Thor listened in on the conversation between the Director, and the God of Mischief.

"Just in case it's unclear, you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass, it's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant, boot." Fury said, gesturing to Loki as the ant, and the console as the boot, making Alexandra roll her eyes. That was atypical Fury humor.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me." Loki replied, and Alexandra's eyes flickered to Bruce, who she had quickly become friends with. Their love of science and their mutual somewhat uncontrollable powers made them bond as Fury had hoped they would.

"Built for something a lot stronger than you." Fury retorted.

"Oh I've heard," Loki said, as he walked towards the camera that we were watching the exchange through. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man."

Bruce caught her eyes then, and Alex rolled her eyes again, making him smile, though it was only slightly.

"How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?" Loki continued.

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, and you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did." Fury threatened, in the subtle way that Alexandra had gotten used to over the years.

"Ooh, it burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, unlimited power. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is." Loki said, completely seriously.

"Was he talking about himself just then?" Alex muttered to herself, earning a half smile from Natasha, who was sat next to her.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something." Fury said, as he walked out, making Alexandra mentally applaud him.

Alexandra half tuned the others out then, and turned her attention onto Natasha.

"Did you see Barton?" Alexandra asked.

"No. He got the iridium and was gone by the time we got Loki. We'll find him, Alex." Nat reassured her long-time friend. She knew that Alex and Clint shared a connection that went beyond the physical relationship they shared. She was waiting for the day they admitted it to themselves and each other.

"What if we can't reverse the mind control? What if we don't get him back?" Alexandra whispered.

"We'll get him back. He's Clint. He's come out of worse situations before."

"But not like this. This is my fault. If I hadn't recruited him…he wouldn't be forced to do the orders of Loki. If he kills any agents, if he manages to hurt you or me, though that is unlikely, he won't forgive himself."

"If you hadn't recruited him, his life would be infinitely worse by now. You saved him, just like you saved me. We just need to find him as quickly as possible." Nat whispered back.

Alexandra nodded, then looked up to see that Coulson was back with Tony Stark in tow. Or Tony Stark had him in tow. Either way, but it was most likely the latter.

"It's a stabilising agent!" He said, making Alexandra wrinkle her eyebrows in confusion, until she realised someone must've asked what the iridium was for. Stark turned back to Coulson and continued speaking in a quieter voice, as they continued walking. "All I'm saying is pick a weekend, and I'll fly you out to Portland. Keep love alive."

Alexandra rolled her eyes at Stark's antics. He had walked up to Director Fury's viewing station, pretending to be a sea captain, announcing that an agent was playing Galaga which he was and Alexandra would deal with him later, and then asked how Fury could see all of his screens.

"He turns." Hill answered.

"They're using the iridium as a stabilising agent so the portal doesn't close in on itself like it did at SHIELD." Alexandra explained, while Stark prodded and pressed things on Fury's monitors.

His attention was then drawn to the beautiful brunette woman in the green dress, whose chocolate brown eyes sparked with interest.

"And who is this beautiful woman?" Tony asked.

"Agent Cosmos. She's assisting Dr Banner with finding the Tesseract." Fury announced as he approached.

Stark moved away from the Director's station after he'd planted his bug, and walked towards Agent Cosmos who had stood and was walking towards Dr Banner.

"Why don't you let the men do all the work, sweetheart? Don't tire yourself out." He remarked.

Alexandra saw red, quite literally. She glared at Stark, and heard Natasha's quiet chuckle, most likely earning her a few puzzled looks.

Alexandra turned her palm upwards, her eyes still locked on Stark, and fire suddenly covered her whole hand.

"I'd be careful what you say, Mr Stark. I don't tend to play well with others after they've insulted my intelligence. And usually, things get a little hot. And not in a way I'm sure you'd like." Alexandra smirked, as his eyes widened, unable to tear themselves away from the fireball in her hand.

"So this is one of the secrets your secrets are keeping?" Stark asked Fury.

"Agent Cosmos isn't exactly a secret, Stark. Her file was made available for you to look through when Agent Coulson gave you the information he did," Fury answered. "If you'd read all the information, then you'd know that Doctor Cosmos is more than qualified to assist Banner. I'm sure Cosmos and Banner have it under control."

"Doctor Banner, your work on antielectron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into a enormous green rage monster." Tony said, thinking he had complimented the doctor, as he shook his hand.

Bruce looked at the billionaire with uncertainty.

"Thanks."

"Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. In fact, I was hoping you'd join them."

Alexandra began to play with the little ball of fire in her hand, bouncing it up and down like a bouncy ball, while Rogers stared at her in wonder. He shook his head, and went back into Captain America mode.

"I would start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon." He suggested, turning his head to look at the three scientists.

"I don't know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I would like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys." Fury said.

"You're not the only one." Alex replied, putting out her little ball of fire, and redirecting her attention back to the room.

"Monkeys? I do not understand." Thor said, looking at Fury with a look of confusion that let Alex's heart warm a little to the brother of the god that had brainwashed her best friend.

"I do!" Steve said, pointing at Fury with glee. Alex and Natasha traded smirks. The Captain was so far out of the loop that he was excited that he understood a movie reference. "I understood that reference."

Tony looked at his fellow scientists, more so at Alex.

"Shall we play, Doctor, Doctor?" He asked, nodding in each of their directions.

"This way, sir." Bruce said, gesturing to a door leading away from the command center. Alex walked ahead of the pair, tapping away on her tablet, going through equations and algorithms to try and get some work done as she routinely ignored the stares of the other agents who walked past.

While Stark set up his own equipment, Alex and Bruce start to run tests on Loki's scepter.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports of the Tesseract." Bruce informed Stark.

"It's going to take weeks to process. Weeks that we don't have." Alex added, as she began running a diagnostic on the two readings just as second confirmation they were the same.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct route to the Homer cluster, we can clock this at around 600 teraflops." Stark replied, doing what he said as he spoke on the computer that he brought with him. Bruce looked up at him, and let out a chuckle. Alex smiled at him. Bruce seemed like a sad, lonely guy, so she guessed it was rare for him to laugh.

"All I packed was a toothbrush." Bruce said, as Tony walked back towards them.

"You know, you two should come by Stark Tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it. It's Candy Land." He said, picking up an object that made Alex narrow her eyes, but she simply rolled her eyes as she was curious as to what he'd do with it.

"Thanks, but the last time I was in New York, I kind of broke Harlem." Bruce replied, making Tony divert his eyes to her next.

"Sounds cool to me. I'm in." She replied, letting his earlier sexist comment slide. He was Tony Stark after all, blissfully unaware of anything around him but his own needs and, of course, his ego.

"Well, Banner, I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises." And then Alex's curiosity was fed, as Tony gave Bruce a tiny shock on the side.

"Ow!" Bruce said, turning to look at him with an amused face, as Tony scrutinized Bruce's face to see if he showed any signs of 'hulking' out.

"Hey!" Steve made his presence known.

"Nothing…?" Tony asked Bruce, who shook his head, and went back to work. Alex pretty much mimicked his actions and began logging her findings on the gamma radiation emissions from both the Cube and Loki's scepter They were identical, but she wanted to see the difference in the emissions when the Tesseract opened the portal.

"Are you nuts?" Steve asked Tony, anger clear on his face.

"Jury's out. You really have got a lid on it, haven't you?" Tony asked Bruce, as Steve strode forward, still in his Captain America suit. "What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

Alex had to let out a chuckle at the last bit as she tried to picture Bruce smoking a joint, but then her mind turned it into the Hulk smoking a joint and it instantly became a lot funnier.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve questioned Stark again.

"Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offence, Doc." He added the last part on, with a nod to Banner, who just nodded and carried on working.

"Hey, we haven't been formally introduced. I'm Dr Alexandra Cosmos, call me Alex. Did you read my file?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am. So you should know that Dr Banner isn't the only one who has anger management issues, and quite frankly Captain, the tension you and Stark are creating, is getting on my nerves. So if it doesn't stop soon and if you both don't stop bothering me and Dr Banner while we're working, I'm gonna explode and rearrange your pretty faces. Understand, gentlemen? Or gentleman…and Stark?" Alex said, a false sweet smile on her face. Her outburst surprised both Tony and Steve, but not Banner. He could sense the anger in her building and knew that the outburst was her way of letting it out with less severe consequences. He knew how she felt. Steve was slightly bothering him.

"It's all right, Alex. Steve, I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Bruce said, trying to smooth things other.

"You're tip-toeing, big man. You need to strut." Tony said, walking backwards to pick up his snack. Dried blueberries, Alex noticed.

"And you need to focus on the problem at hand, Mr Stark." Steve snapped.

"Do you think I'm not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us? I can't do the equation unless I have all of the variables." Tony said, looking at Steve. Alex looked up at him as well, noting the seed of doubt that Tony planted showing up in his eyes.

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Alex laughed at this, and all three man looked at her with raised eyebrows, before she stopped and carried on working.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's "the" spy. His secrets have secrets. Our favourite female scientist was one of them. It's bugging them, too. Isn't it?" Tony said, stuffing another handful of blueberries into his mouth, and gesturing at the other two scientists, who were struggling to do their work with the distraction both Tony and Steve were creating. Alex and Bruce exchanged a glance, basically saying that they weren't going to get in between this.

"Uh…I just want to finish my work here, and…" Bruce said, before he was cut off by Steve.

"Doctor?"

Bruce looked down at his keyboard, before looking at Alex and sighing. He took off his glasses, and held them in one hand as he began to speak.

"'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the Cube." Bruce started.

"I heard it." Steve nodded.

"We think that was meant for Stark," Alex said, taking a handful of the blueberries Tony offered towards her and Bruce. Bruce did the same. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

She chucked one up into the air and caught it in her mouth.

"I like this girl." Tony said, grinning at her. She smiled back.

"The Stark Tower? That big, ugly…building in New York?" Steve paused for a second when Tony turned and looked at him for the 'ugly' comment, before he continued.

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source." Bruce explained.

"That building will run itself for, what, a year?" Alex estimated, and getting her calculations correct.

"It's just the prototype," Tony replied, nodding at her. "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what they're getting at."

Steve looked back at Bruce, waiting for the rest of what he wanted to say.

"So, why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Bruce asked rhetorically. Steve wouldn't know.

"Wouldn't you know, Dr Cosmos? You are a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, right?" Steve asked her.

"I've been on leave, Rogers. Since last year. I was sunning myself in the tropics, trying to stay relaxed. And S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't send round a newsletter. I'm as out of the loop as you, well on this topic anyway. I have no answers."

"But if you asked Fury for answers, wouldn't he give them to you?" Steve questioned her, making her feel as though she was being interrogated.

"Captain, you may have just been chilling like a bottle of beer in a giant freezer for the past seventy years, but while technology has leaped forwards not everything has changed so drastically. Fury is my equivalent to a CO, and I'm just a soldier. I get assignments, I do as I'm told, I complete the mission. Fury knows me. He knows I don't ask questions. So if I went up to him and started questioning S.H.I.E.L.D.'s motives…alarm bells would start ringing in his perfectly round head. Bruce has a point, though, why is S.H.I.E.L.D dabbling with clean energy? We've never bothered before. We're a defense organisation. Not a bunch of hippies who insist that eating meat is contributing to climate change. So why the sudden interest?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programme finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secure files." Tony said, looking at his Stark Phone. Alex grinned, shaking her head. She finally understood why he had gone to Fury's station and started messing with the screens.

"I'm sorry. Did you say…" Steve trailed off.

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, I'll know ever dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever tried to hide," Tony revealed. Alex and Bruce traded another wary glance. They weren't sure how this would play out, but both could tell it wouldn't end well. "Blueberry?"

Steve stared at him with a stern expression. It was a look that reminded Alex of fathers. Over her existence she'd seen dads give their children that exact look when they were reprimanding them for doing something they shouldn't. It was the look Fury gave agents, had even given her before, when they mess up.

"Yet you're confused about why they didn't want you around." Steve remarked.

"An intelligence organisation that fears intelligence? Historically, not awesome." Tony retorted, with what Alex would start calling 'Stark Sarcasm'. She'd known Howard Stark and this was exactly the kind of sarcasm he used to use. A smile ghosted across her lips as she recognized that while Tony was like Howard in many ways, he was so different as well.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them." Steve said, trying to shame them. Alex chuckled.

"Were we not trying to work before he and Tony had their little testosterone-fueled pissing match?" Alex whispered to Bruce, who hid his laugh under a cough and his hand.

"Following's not really my style." Tony replied, tossing some more blueberries into his mouth.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve asked.

"Of the people in this room, which one is, A, wearing a spangly outfit, and, B, not of use?" Tony retorted, and Alex tried not to laugh at Steve's face as he got cut down to size.

"Steve, tell me that none of this smells a little funky to you." Bruce said, trying to play peacekeeper.

Steve looked at Bruce, then back at Tony, before looking at Alex. She looked back at him with a look that said she wanted him out of her lab, and he noticed that while he was preaching about following orders, he had been keeping Bruce and Alex from theirs. He didn't care about Stark. Stark didn't follow orders anyway.

"Just find the Cube." Steve said, before he stormed out of the lab.

Alex sighed, and moved across the room to a different screen and began to use the cross-match of the Cube and the scepter to locate the Cube.

"That's the guy my dad never shut up about? I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony said, as he began working.

"The guy's not wrong about Loki, he has got the jump on us." Bruce said, subtly coming to Steve's defence, though Alex wasn't sure he really needed it. Sure he was completely lost in this century with its rapid advances in technology and communications, but he could hold his own well enough.

"What he's got is an Acme dynamite kit. It's going to blow up in his face. And I'm going to be there when it does." Tony replied.

"Yeah. I'll read all about it."

Alex turned to look at Bruce as he walked towards her and took over her screen, and smiled at him as she moved out of his way.

"Or you'll be suiting up with the rest of us." Alex said, crossing the room to use the other screen.

"You see, I don't get a suit of armor. I'm exposed…like a nerve. It's a nightmare." Bruce said, and Alex, while on the other side of the room, could hear the sadness in his voice. She knew that Bruce had done everything he could to cure himself. She'd read all about it in his file. She knew all about Betty Ross and Harlem and General Ross and she wished she could help him.

"You know, I've got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it," Alex turned just in time to see Tony tap the small arc reactor in his chest. "This little circle of light, it's a part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

Tony Stark getting deep. Alex had officially seen it all.

"But you can control it." Bruce countered.

"Because I learnt how."

"It's different." Bruce said.

"Hey, I read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you." Tony said, trying to put it into perspective for Bruce.

"So you're saying that the Hulk…the other guy saved my life? That's nice. That's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?"

"Everyone has a purpose, Bruce. My guess is we'll discover yours pretty soon." Alex said, bringing herself into the conversation.

"You may not enjoy that." Bruce replied, as all three started working again, each individual running their own test that would bring them closer to locating the Cube.

"You just might." Alex said, a smirk on her face.


	3. Natasha Romanoff and Loki

Loki was pacing round his cage once more, bored of sitting down, when he felt her presence. A smile spread across his face, and he addressed her before he turned.

"There's not many people who can sneak up on me."

"But you figured I'd come." She replied, standing in front of the glass cage that was meant to house Dr Banner's alter ego in case of dire emergency.

"After," Loki said, beginning his slow pacing again, facing her as he spoke. "After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, a balm. And I would cooperate."

"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton." Natasha Romanoff demanded, in her calm way. No emotion got past her mask, one that she had perfected over years of practice. Loki wouldn't draw any conclusions on her emotions or body language, unless she guided him to it, of course. As she asked her question, her head tilted slightly to the left. Alex had told her once that she did that. Like it was a habit or something.

"I would say I've expanded his mind." Loki answered.

"And once you've won, once you're king of the mountain, what happens to his mind?" Romanoff questioned, stepping forward until she was only a couple of steps from the edge of the walkway. Her arms crossed over her chest and her head raised slightly, trying to make herself look bigger.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff? It might upset you to know that Agent Barton revealed his pact with Agent Cosmos and of his secret feelings towards her. Very useful information."

"Love is for children. I owe him a debt." Natasha answered Loki's question, ignoring the rest of what he'd said. She didn't need him to tell her Clint was in love with Alex. She knew that a long time ago, though she was wary of the fact that Loki might try to manipulate Alex or Clint with that information.

Loki smirked, and stepped backwards, gesturing to the seat beside where she stood.

"Tell me." He said, sitting on the 'bed' he'd been given.

Natasha stood silent for a moment, before making her decision.

"Before I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. I, uh, well, I made a name for myself," She said, sitting down in the fold-up chair, resting her hands between her knees. "I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in a bad way. Agent Barton and Agent Cosmos were sent to kill me. He convinced her to make a different call."

Loki had sat quietly through her tale, already knowing it well, but when she'd finished he looked up.

"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?" He questioned, curious as to what the woman would do. After all, Barton and Romanoff had no romantic attachment like Barton and Cosmos. They were simply partners, and friends.

"Not let you out."

"No, but I like this. Your world in the balance and you bargain for one man." Loki smiled, that creepy smile of his at her actions. He probably thought them selfish or inhumane that she was asking for Barton back instead of asking for him to leave the Earth be.

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that. I'm Russian. Or I was."

"And what are you now?" Loki asked.

Natasha stood up once more.

"It's really not that complicated," She said, stepping forward and resuming her earlier stance; her feet shoulder's width apart and her arms crossed over her chest. "I got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out."

"Can you?" Loki asked, wiping the smile of Romanoff's face. "Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter, Sao Paulo, the hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping. It's gushing red and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?"

Natasha's eyes were filling with unshed tears, her throat felt like it was closing up with unreleased sobs and her body was shaking, and Loki smiled in glee at her reaction as he continued.

"This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer. Pathetic! You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you. And they will never go away," Loki suddenly slammed his fist against the glass, making Natasha jump and step backwards, but she couldn't rip her eyes away from his. "I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you and your friend. Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he'll wake just long enough to see his good work and when he screams, I'll split his skull."

Natasha forced herself to turn and step away from him after that, knowing he'd already seen the horror on her face, the fear, but as she turned a smirk appeared that he couldn't see, but her body still shook with the 'sobs' she was fighting.

"This is my bargain, you mewling quim."

"You're a monster." Natasha said, making her voice shake, knowing that any second now, he'd give her the information that she wanted.

He laughed a little bit.

"Oh, no. You brought the monster." Loki said. Natasha raised her head, and turned around, her face completely clear of the tears and fear he had seen only brief moments before.

"So, Banner. That's your play." Natasha surmised, a smirk threatening to plaster the smugness she felt inside all over her face.

"What?" Loki asked, confused at her reaction. Why was the fear gone?

Natasha strode away, a finger pressed to her ear piece as she began rapidly explaining Loki's plan.

"Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab. I'm on my way. Send Thor as well," She ordered, before she stopped and turned to face Loki again. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Then she turned and left him alone to contemplate how he'd been fooled by a human, as she hurried to the lab.

Alex, Bruce and Tony were surrounding a screen, close to the sceptre, that Tony had linked up to his phone so all of them could see the information that he had managed to hack in to when Fury stormed in. Alex had listened to Natasha and Loki's conversation through her ear piece. Alex and Natasha had their own channel and Natasha had switched it on, wanting her to hear the conversation. She had made no sign of hearing it, just continued looking through the files with Tony and Bruce, though inside she had wanted to cry for the first time in years. Now they had an angry Director to deal with.

"What are you up to, Mr Stark?"

"Kind of been wondering the same thing about you." Tony replied, dodging Fury's question. Alex rolled her eyes.

"You're supposed to be locating the Tesseract. And you're supposed to be keeping him in check." He said, pointing at Alex.

"So that's why I'm here? Not because my partner is someone else's little bitch, but because I was required to babysit? Not how I work, Fury, you know that. My babysitting days were behind me when you were old enough to own a gun." She grinned at him, as he shot her a dirty look.

"And we are looking for the Tesseract. The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit," Bruce explained, gesturing towards a screen on the other side of the room. "we'll have the location within half a mile."

"Yeah, then you get your Cube back. No muss, no fuss. What is Phase 2?" Tony questioned Fury, but Fury didn't really need to even open his mouth to answer as Steve arrived and dropped a heavy weapon onto one of the metal desks in the room.

"Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D. uses the Cube to make weapons. Sorry, the computer was moving a little slow for me." Steve said, before turning to Fury.

"Rogers, we gather everything related to the Tesseract," Fury said, moving towards him and the gun. "This does not mean that we're making…"

"Uh, I'm sorry, Nick," Tony cut him off, turning the screen around to show blueprints on how to use the Tesseract in the weapon. Alex gritted her teeth, as she tried to remain calm. "What were you lying?"

"I was wrong, Director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said.

Fury looked at Alex, who was drumming the fingers of one hand against her lips nervously, like she was trying to contain herself, and instantly his back went up. He didn't have a problem keeping secrets from Stark or Rogers, but keeping a secret from Alex that obviously had her worked up was clearly a wrong decision on his part. She had been here longer than even he had. She had passed up the opportunity to become Director herself so that he could have the same job his father, the first Nick Fury, had. He owed her a lot. And he obviously owed her some more now.

Thor entered the lab, escorted by Natasha, who, sensing the tension, wanted to remove Banner as quickly as possible.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce asked her.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" She asked, though it wasn't really a request. It was a polite way of making an order whilst giving the illusion that the person had a choice.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed." Bruce scoffed.

Natasha stepped towards him.

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?" Bruce asked.

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Natasha scoffed.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Bruce snapped, moving to grab the screen with the blueprints on it and pointed to it sharply. "I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him." Fury said, pointing at a confused Thor. In all the times Alex had seen Thor, she couldn't count one time he hadn't looked confused.

"Me?"

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned." Fury explained, turning round and ended up facing Rogers.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor insisted.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat." Fury said.

"You mean, like me? I'm not from around these parts. Does that mean you were building that weapon to use against me as well?" Alex questioned, suspicion and anger in her eyes. "For my entire life, I've protected this planet, and now you're saying that I'm a threat and you created a weapon to wipe me out on the off chance I turn on you?"

"Not you in particular, Agent Cosmos. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled." Fury said, turning to look at her, doing his best to ignore the hurt that was in her eyes.

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve asked.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is a signal to all the realms that the Earth is ready for a higher form of war." Thor said, before Fury could answer Steve's question.

"A higher form?" Steve asked, though was once again ignored.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury defended himself and S.H.I.E.L.D.. Alex was silently fuming as she stood next to Bruce, who was equally unhappy, but only unhappy, not yet angry.

"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down." Tony snarked, using his brand of sarcasm to make a point. And a valid point.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Stark." Fury demanded.

That's when it hit Alex. Loki's game plan was to unleash the Hulk, but what would that accomplish besides bringing down an airship with him inside it. No, there was something more to his plan. Alex turned her head and studied the scepter as the other's continued their bickering. The blue orb of it was glowing. A frown formed on her face so she walked round the table to examine it. As the arguing got more intense, the scepter glowed brighter.

Alex was about to say something, but was cut off by Bruce grabbing the scepter.

"Bruce, put down the scepter." Alex said, softly.

A beeping cut through the tension in the room, and let the scientists know that the Tesseract had been found.

Bruce put the scepter onto the table, and Alex moved around the table again, to put it back on the stand it had rested on, before she looked at it again.

She had a gut feeling something was about to happen.

"Sorry kids, guess you won't get to see my party trick after all." Bruce said, as he crossed the room, with Natasha at his heels, to see where the Tesseract had been located.

Tony and Steve got into another argument as to who should go and get it, while the unease in Alex grew.

"Fury? I've got a bad-" An explosion blasted Alex onto her back. She wheezed, and shakily stood up, noting that Bruce and Natasha were missing, as well as Fury and Thor. She shook her head and realised what had happened.

Clint had tracked the scepter's signature which had emitted a stronger signal when everyone was arguing.

Clint was here.


	4. Clint Barton

Alex raced down the corridors that were full of activity, with agents running in all directions to get to their 'battle stations'. They were under attack. This had been Loki's plan all along. To separate them. Divide and conquer. Well…not if Alex had anything to do with it.

Alex skidded to a stop outside a familiar door, and immediately punched in the code she had memorised years back. The door instantly opened, and she threw herself inside, allowing herself a brief second to gaze at her old uniform. Moment over, and she immediately began stripping her clothes off, before sliding herself into the tight dark green suit. It wasn't bullet proof, or knife resistant, but she didn't have to worry about that. She was faster than a knife, and only marginally slower than a bullet, but she healed quickly and bullet grazes healed faster than bullet holes.

Alex smiled as she found the dark green lipstick, and opened it. She put on her 'war paint', pouting once and smacking her lips, before she turned serious again. She grabbed a gun from her weapons cabinet, and a couple of magazines in case she needed to reload, and then grabbed a few throwing knives and strapped them to her thigh.

Alex looked back once at all her S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment with a wistful smile before she headed out of the room, locking it once more.

She connected her ear piece back to the main line, and listened to what was going on.

_"Somebody's got to get outside and patch that engine."_ She heard Agent Hill's voice say.

_"Stark, you copy that?"_ Fury asked.

_"I'm on it."_

"This is Barton, Director. That explosion must have been one of his arrows. I'm going after him."

"_Can you handle it? Can you do all that's necessary?_"

"I've been doing this since before you were born. Don't question my ability to do what's necessary, Nick Fury."

"_You've never been this close to a partner before._"

Alex paused before she answered. She hadn't been as close to any of her other partners. Clint was different. She had feelings for him. She'd admit that at least. She felt something for him, but she couldn't say what.

"He's not Clint. Has anyone got Barton's location?"

"_Barton just took out our systems. He's headed for the detention level. Do you copy?_"

"Copy that."

With that Alex ran full pelt towards the detention level to take out the enemy. He's not Clint. Clint was trapped inside his own head and unless Alex could release him, she'd have to end him.

Alex soon found him. He strode quickly along a walkway above Alex, headed towards the detention center that held his 'master'. She swung herself up onto walkway behind him and began to follow him. Barton soon noticed that she had joined him, and turned to take his attacker out with an arrow. As he released the arrow, Alex grabbed the bow and moved it, so she was out of the line of fire.

She pushed the bow down, trying to knock it out of his hands, but Clint elbowed her in the face. Alex let go, moving out of his reach as he tried to strike her. Barton stalked forward, every bit the predator on a hunt, only to be knocked backwards by a roundhouse kick to the chest. Alex swung herself back down underneath the walkway, and moved to the other side, flipping back up with ease and slamming her foot into his knee, forcing him back again.

He fired another arrow in her direction, but missed as Alex used a support pole to vault herself over to the parallel walkway. Barton jumped across, still using his bow as a substitute for a knife. He swiped nothing but air with it a couple of times, until Alex managed to grab hold of the bow's string. He allowed her to pull on it, until he pushed it back into her face sharply twice, before she managed to wrench it from his hands. She spun round with it on her shoulders, and watched as he pulled out a knife.

She dropped the bow down underneath the walkway, so he couldn't get to it, and then moved to attack once more. She kicked up at his hand, but he caught her hand and pulled her body so that the kick would go under his arm. Alex punched him, and Clint released her, and tried to stab her. Alex caught his wrist, twisting his arm in the hope he'd release the knife. He tossed the knife to his other hand, and slashed down, trying to cut her face, but she ducked.

Alex grabbed his hand, and twisted it, but he backed it up with his spare hand, forcing her to do the same. They struggled with the knife, until he started pushing it towards her throat. Alex's eyes widened as the tip of the knife got too close to her neck, before she pushed his hands back a little bit. Seeing that if this carried on, he'd bury the knife in her throat, regardless of her being the strongest, Alex ducked her head down and bit Clint's arm.

Alex used his surprise, to grip his arm tight, spin herself over his shoulder which forced him to double over, and then propel his body forward. Clint went head first into the metal railing, hitting his head pretty hard. He dropped to the floor, groaning.

Alex stepped towards him, as he slowly moved back onto his knees. Both of them were breathing hard from the fight.

Clint glanced up at his opponent, and recognition lit up his face.

"Alex?" He questioned.

Alex stared down at him, before her fist snapped forward, connected with his jaw and sent him flying backwards.

"Barton's down. I'm taking him to detainment, but I need someone to sit with him, while I help Stark keep this boat from going down. Anybody copy?" Alex said, pressing down on her earpiece with one hand, as she used the other to drag Barton's upper body over her shoulder. Now her other hand was free, she pushed his body into place and began speed-walking to detainment.

"_This is Agent Romanoff. I copy_." Tasha's voice came into her head. She sounded a little shaky, but Alex dropped it for now. She'd ask questions later.

"I'll strap him down. You sit with him. I'll be back as soon as I can." Alex said, finding a detainment room that was empty and rubble free. She lowered Clint's body down onto the bed, well chair, and quickly strapped his arms down to it.

Alex permitted herself to look at him for a brief second, before planting a quick kiss on his lips. Then she darted out of the room, and ran towards one of the exits leading outside.

Alex used all her strength to forced the door open, and then flew outside. Alex flew to the front of the ship where she knew Fury would see her.

"_Cosmos, what are you doing out there?_" Fury demanded.

"Wait and watch, boss. Wait and watch."

Alex kept herself hovering in the air, holding her hands out in front of her, palms pointing towards the Helicarrier. She was going to create a barrier with the air under the Helicarrier so it couldn't descend any further. Instantly, Alex felt a huge weight pressing down on top of her as she used all her strength to lift the airship above her head.

"Boss?"

"_Yes, Cosmos?_"

"Tell Stark to hurry up with that engine. What altitude are we at?" She asked.

"_17860 and falling, though slower than before. Hang in there, Cosmos. That's an order._"

"Roger that, boss." Alex managed to say, as she strained under the weight. Her muscles were burning, and her feet were slipping as though she was being pushed back as she held the Helicarrier in place. Every second she held on felt like it had been stretched. Every second felt like ten years.

Alex was beginning to slip. She'd never trained herself to do this. Never held an object this heavy for this long only using her strength and the air to aid her. She was almost spent, and she'd fall to a certain death unless Stark finished soon.

"_We're regaining altitude, Cosmos. You can let go now. Come back inside._" Hill ordered, as she watched her from the observation window in the command center. She could see she was losing focus, losing grip, that she'd be lost to them if she didn't come inside now.

Alex let go, nodding to herself as she felt tired and drowsy.

"_Cosmos, inside. Do not fall unconscious out there. Get inside now!_" Hill ordered her, panic starting rise up again. Fury would hate himself if they lost Cosmos. She was the sole surviving founding agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and someone he, himself, looked up to. They couldn't lose her now.

Alex bent the air around her, trying to give herself a bit more oxygen, and flew slowly and unsurely towards the exit she came out of. Her vision was tinged with black spots, but with her last ounce of energy and strength, she created a strong wind and threw herself through the exit, blowing the door closed behind her.

And then it all went black.


	5. Alexandra Cosmos

Alex woke up, feeling a little sore, but otherwise okay. She looked around, and noticed she was lying on a bed. Must be her bed on the Helicarrier. Memories came back to her and she sat up quickly. Clint. She needed to see Clint.

She climbed to her feet, noting that she was still wearing her suit with all the weapons still attached, and slowly made her way out of her room. Seeing how she could hear no gunfire, and no panicked voices anymore she assumed Loki had gotten away.

When she was more sure of herself, she speeded up, from walking to jogging, and then from jogging to running, and then from running to sprinting until she reached the detainment room she'd left him in.

"Why am I back?" Alex heard him say from inside. Tasha must still be with him. "How did you get him out?"

Alex opened the door quietly, but his eyes still lapsed on to her within seconds.

"Cognitive recalibration," Alex said, moving into the room, a timid smile on her face. She probably looked like she'd been to hell and back. She sat down by his legs, before she continued. "I hit you really hard on the head."

"Thanks." He replied, a smile on his face.

Natasha slipped out of the room, giving them some privacy, hoping that they'd come to their senses and admit they had feelings for each other. Alex just smiled at him, as she undid his restraints.

"Alex…how many agents did I-" Clint started, but he was cut off by two fingers pressed against his mouth.

"Don't. Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing you were ever trained for." Alex said, taking her hand away from his mouth, but kept her eyes locked on his. They were silent for a while, both not knowing where they stood after Loki had left the boundaries of their relationship up in the air, both knowing they wanted something more, but both doubting the other did too.

"Loki. Did he get away?" Clint asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah. I don't suppose you know where." Alex said, rather than asked.

Clint shook his head as a reply.

"I didn't need to know," He said, watching Alex stand and walk away, leaving their moment behind her as she often did. Clint swung his legs around, so his feet were touching the floor, and grabbed the glass of water Natasha had poured him before she left the room. "I didn't ask. He's going to make his play soon, though. Today."

"We got to stop him." Alex said quickly, turning round to face him again.

"Yeah? Who's "we"?" Clint asked, looking over at her, scepticism written all over his face.

"I don't know. Whoever's left." She replied, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Well, if I put an arrow through Loki's eye socket, I would sleep better, I suppose." Clint joked, bringing a smile to Alex's face.

She moved back over to the bed, and sat down beside him, her eyes not straying from his face.

"Now you sound like you." She said.

"But you don't. You're a spy, not a soldier. Now you want to wade into a war. Why? What did Loki do to you?" Clint asked her, hoping that answer was the one that he thought it was. That she wanted to get back at Loki for what he did to him, because she loved him, because she'd been forced to attack him and she'd hated that. He scrutinised her face, and was surprised to find she looked more open than she normally was. Usually she was closed off, never letting emotion play on her face, never showed a weakness. Yet here she sat, and for the first time since he'd met her and fallen in love with her (though he wouldn't go shouting that around) she looked vulnerable.

"He didn't. I just…" Alex's sentence trailed off as she found no words for why she wanted to beat Loki. She knew it was because of Clint, but she didn't want to say so. Not directly to him. She ripped her eyes from him, and looked at her hands. In her brawl with Barton, her knuckles had ripped and bled, now they were healed again. She stared at the new skin, trying to avoid answering Clint.

"Alex." He whispered softly. He wanted an answer.

"I've been compromised. For seventy years since I helped start this organization, no one has ever found my weakness. Within three days, Loki found it," Alex said, in a quiet voice. She didn't like admitting this, but she felt like she had to. "I've spent centuries on this planet. I've watched friends grow old and die, I've left lovers all over the globe, going back to find them with families, I've seen the rise and fall of empires and leaders, but I'd never been in love before. Loki's threatened to take that away from me. He's going to find out firsthand just how annoyingly stubborn I am."

She looked up at him, and cracked a half-hearted smile, before she let her emotionless mask take over again, closing herself off, in case he takes the subtle admission of love in her explanation badly and rejects her.

"I love you too, Alex." Clint replied, a grin on his face that made her let a smile back onto her face.

"Good. I would start to worry about you if you didn't," She joked, pressing her lips on his cheek, leaving them both disappointed. Alex licked her lips afterwards, and her face scrunched up, making Clint laugh, because of how comical it was. "Ew, sweat. Go wash up."

"Yes ma'am." He said, laughing as he stood and walked into the little bathroom that connected to the room, and turned on the sink.

Alex smiled to herself, almost not noticing Natasha walk back in, thinking she had given them enough time for admissions of love and kisses. Natasha's eyes scrutinised Alex's face, noting her grin, and a smile spread on her own face.

"You two finally come to your senses and told each other how you feel?" Natasha asked, a smirk removing the smile from her face. Alex looked up at the red head and shrugged her shoulders, trying to act casual.

"Maybe, maybe not. You tell me, Romanoff. I trained you to be able to tell these sort of things, didn't I?" Alex smirked back at her, standing up and playfully squaring off against her.

"Congratulations to the happy couple. I assume this news goes no further than these walls." Natasha said, rather than asked.

"While assumptions are usually a minor cause of death, you would assume correct in this instance." Alex replied, looking over at Clint for confirmation, who nodded.

"We'll revaluate the decision once we've dealt with Loki." Clint said, wiping a wet cloth across his face.

The door opened, cutting off their conversation, as both women looked expectantly at the new arrival. Steve stood there, kitted out in his Captain America uniform.

"Time to go."

"Go where?" Alex asked him.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?" Steve asked.

Alex didn't answer, waiting a second for Clint to answer as she knew he would.

"I can." He walked back into the room, his eyes on Steve.

Steve glanced at Clint for a brief second, before he turned his head back to Alex and Natasha, who nodded, confirming that he was back to his old self and back on the right side. Steve looked back at Clint.

"You got a suit?" He asked.

Clint wiped his hands dry on one of the oddly soft hand towels that S.H.I.E.L.D. provides, and his eyes flickered to Alex for a second, before settling back on Steve.

"Yeah."

"Then suit up." Steve ordered, before turning and walking out of the room.

"Why can't all my conversations with Steve be that quick and to the point?" Alex asked, mostly to herself, but it made Clint and Natasha laugh. "Well, Hawkeye, you need to suit up. I need to go get your bow from where it was discarded in our death match and I need some more ammunition, and we'll meet at the Quinjet hanger in half an hour."


	6. The Battle of Manhattan and A Sacrifice

Hawkeye, Mother Nature and Black Widow walked behind Captain America as they walked towards one of the few Quinjets that survived Hulk's rampage. As they entered it, a technician stood and said words that forced a chuckle out of Mother Nature's mouth.

"You guys aren't authorised to be in here."

"Son, just don't." Cap warned, as Mother Nature stepped forward and ushered him out.

The Hawk quickly situated himself in the pilot seat, with Widow as his co-pilot while Cap and Mother Nature paced around in the back.

They took off after safety checks, following behind Iron Man as he zoomed towards Manhattan faster than they could. Tony would try and stop the portal from being opened, and if he couldn't, then he'd hold of the Chitauri until we arrived as back-up.

Alex spent the brief journey to Manhattan setting her hand on fire and putting it out again just as quickly, annoying and amazing Steve.

"He couldn't stop the Cube. The portal is open." Natasha breathed, as she looked up at the blue beam that tore a hole into the sky, and let aliens that would stop at nothing to destroy anything in sight.

"Well that's not good." Alex said.

"Stark, we're on your three, headed northeast." Natasha informed him, as Clint continue to fly towards the city.

_"What? Did you stop for drive-through?"_ Stark snapped back at her, heard by all through their ear pieces. Alex rolled her eyes at his snarkiness.

"I wish." She muttered under her breath.

"_Swing up Park. I'm going to lay them out for you_." Tony instructed. Clint did as he was told, and Natasha readied the jet's gun, and began firing at the aliens that were on Iron Man's tail.

Clint pulled the Quinjet up to Stark Tower, and spotted Loki and Thor battling it out on Stark's balcony.

"Nat?"

"I see him." She informed him, and started firing at the god wearing the stupid helmet, but Loki fired back, and hit one of the wings, sending the Quinjet on a spiral down. Clint swerved buildings and people as he tried to find a relatively empty spot to do an emergency landing. The jet landed with a thud, and skidded forward a couple of yards before stopping, and everyone quickly bailed out.

"We got to get back up there." Cap said, and they all began running back towards Stark Tower.

"You guys cool with running? Because Stark needs help ASAP and I'm the only one who can fly." Alex asked, as she ran beside Clint.

"Go. We'll meet up later." Steve ordered, not looking back at her.

She nodded, though he couldn't see her, and launched herself onto the bonnet of an abandoned car, using it as a place to kick-off from, before she went zooming up into the air.

"Hey, Stark, what's your location? I've got an itch that only knocking a few aliens from the sky will scratch." Alex said, speaking into her ear piece.

_"Turn around."_

Alex turned and Iron Man was right behind her, and behind him about a dozen aliens.

"I'm gonna nose dive, you keep them on your tail, and I'll pick them off." Alex informed him, before she suddenly started zooming head first towards the ground. The aliens would think she was a lost cause, and carry on going after Stark, and then she'd loop up and burn them.

She stopped with her face a metre away from the ground. Alex breath quickened. She hadn't quite factored in her speed into her calculations, and was a lot closer to the ground than she had intended. She shook her head slightly, before shooting back up to go help Stark.

Alex made sure she was at the back of the pack, and formed a fire ball in her hand, making it grow until it was the size of a large beach ball.

"Surf's up!" She muttered to herself, before smacking it forward with her palm and taking out all of Tony's flying stalkers.

"Stark, Alex, are you seeing this?" Steve's voice questioned. Alex glanced forward, trying to find what Cap could see. It only took her a sec.

_"Seeing. Still working on believing_," Tony said, and Alex found herself agreeing. What the hell was that? A giant flying alien centipede? "_Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet_?"

"Banner?" Steve's voice questioned.

"_Just keep me posted_."

Alex turned her head and noticed a swarm of the aliens starting to flank her. She pressed her comms link down and a smile came onto her face.

"Nat, Clint, I'm bringing some friends to meet you. See you in two," Alex waved at the Chitauri soldiers and then veered sharply towards the ground, but this time slowed her descent and stopped herself next to Clint. The Chitauri followed her and landed in front of the trio, using sceptres as weapons not unlike Loki.  
"Don't ever say to me that I don't introduce you to new people."

"Not the kind of people we want to meet." Clint said, firing one of his special arrows. Alex loved Clint's arrows, especially the ones that shoot bullets to take out the surrounding bad guys.

Alex threw a fire ball into the dwindling mass of extraterrestrials, and expanded it until it engulfed all of them.

"_Nice work, Hothead_." Stark praised Alex, to which she grinned.

"You're not the only one with a few tricks up your armour," Alex retorted, as she found a broken piece of a metal railing on the floor. Alex picked it up and set fire to it, making it look like a flaming sword. "Oh I remember the days when the only weapon humans had to fight with was a sword. Those were much simpler times."

A Chitauri charged towards her and she spun the fiery pole in her hand. She pulled the pole back as though it were a baseball bat, and waited until her enemy got close enough before she put all her strength and weight behind the swing. Alex shielded her eyes from the sun as she watched the Chitauri's head soar and land with a thud about seventy yards away from her.

Alex drew her gun, and stood between Clint and Natasha as they fired both bullets and arrows towards oncoming aliens.

"Just like Budapest all over again." Natasha said to them both.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently." Clint said, firing another arrow.

"I'm starting to think that you weren't even on the same mission as us!" Alex added, holstering her gun again, and flipping herself over their cover and charging towards the alien mass, slowly setting herself on fire. She didn't feel any pain and her suit, gun and knives were fire resistant, so nothing, but anyone stupid enough to touch her, got burned.

Alex slid through the legs of one alien, then she kick upwards at another, hitting it in the stomach and setting it alight. She flipped herself up, and jumped onto the back of another Chitauri, opening its mouth and shoving a fireball down its throat. Alex back-flipped off of it, and kicked it towards two more. She counted to three, before she expanded the fireball inside the original alien and burned all three.

That's when Steve showed up again. Alex helped Steve and then Thor take down the last of the enemy that surrounded them, before she aided Clint in a search for his arrows.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked Thor, as the two men approached each other.

"The power surrounding the Cube is impenetrable." Thor answered.

"Thor's right. We got to deal with these guys." Tony said, his voice coming through their ear pieces. Alex handed Clint three arrows that she thought were reusable, and he nodded his thanks. They couldn't do the whole 'romance' thing right now. Not that they would anyway. They weren't the kind of people to do big displays of affection in public.

"How do we do this?" Natasha questioned, looking at Steve for an answer. He was the 'Captain' after all.

"As a team." He replied.

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor stated his intentions. Clint wasn't happy with them, however.

"Yeah? Well, get in line." Clint said, inspecting one of his arrows he'd just found.

"Save it. Loki's going to keep this fight focused on us, and that's what we need. Without him, these things could run wild," Steve said, in total 'commanding officer' mode. "We've got Stark up top. He's gonna need us to…"

Steve trailed off as the sound of a wheezing motorbike engine got closer. Alex walked past Steve, a grin on her face as she waited patiently for Bruce to get off the bike. The other four followed her lead, and met Bruce halfway.

"So, this all seems horrible." Bruce said.

"I've seen worse." Natasha says, looking directly at Bruce, who looked a little sheepish. Natasha had told Alex about her run in with the Hulk, and knew the effect it would have had on her.

"Sorry." He replied.

"No, we could use a little worse." Alex smirks at Natasha, who was smiling slightly towards Bruce as they almost gaze at each other.

"Stark, we got him. Science Bro #2 is back!" Alex informed him via their comms. link, a grin on her face.

All five of her team members look at her with raised eyebrows, but she waves them off. She'd explain later if she could remember.

"_Banner_?"

"Just like you said." Steve replied.

"_Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you_." Tony said, and a sense of dread filled Alex. She had a bad feeling that Tony Stark had a different opinion to her as to what a party was.

They watched as Iron Man came veering round a building towards them, with one of the giant flying alien centipedes on his tail. Part of it came crashing through a building, and Alex winced, hoping it had been empty. Most of the buildings were, but sometimes fear makes people do stupid things like hide under desks and not move from under them until the whole room was destroyed and they were dead.

"I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said, shaking her head at the same time as they all stared at the creature approaching them.

Bruce moved towards the giant flying alien centipede, shooting a look towards Natasha.

"Dr Banner," Steve said, stopping him. "Now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain," Bruce said, turning to look at us all, before he changed into the Hulk. "I'm always angry."

Alex watched with scientific curiosity and pure, simple wonder as Bruce transformed into the Hulk. His shirt shredded, and so did his shoes, but his pants seemed to stay in tact. They had probably been too big for Bruce to start off with. Hulk punched the giant flying alien centipede right on the head, forcing it down, but, just like the Titanic in 1912, its back end lifted.

"_Hold on!_" Tony said, as he fired one of his rockets into the now exposed soft tissue of the creature. Steve pulled Natasha under his body and used his shield, Alex created a bubble of air around both her and Clint which worked as a shield to protect them from the falling bits of rubble and dead alien centipede.

Once the alien had fallen, the seven Avengers stood in a circle, backs to each other, facing the enemy as a united front. Until Natasha noticed more of the Chitauri army flying out of the portal.

"Guys." She said, to draw their attention. They all looked up, and waited for their orders from Cap.

"_Call it, Cap_." Tony encouraged. Steve took a couple of steps forward, before turning to them and giving them their orders.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal, our priority is containment. Barton, I want you on that roof. Eyes on everything. Call our patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

"Can you give me a lift?" Clint asked Tony, his eyes on Alex, as she gave him a meaningful look, basically telling him he'd better not die.

"_Right. Better clench up, Legolas_."

With that last sarcastic comment, Tony grabbed Clint by his quiver and shot up into the sky, dropping Clint off on the roof that Steve had pointed out to him.

"Thor, you got to try and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You got the lightning. Light the bastards up. Alex, Natasha, we stay on the ground. We keep the fighting here. And Hulk…" Steve ordered. When Hulk's name was mentioned, he turned and looked at Steve expectantly. Alex was once again amazed by how animalistic, yet human, Hulk acted. Steve pointed upwards, before he spoke. "Smash."

Hulk grinned, before jumping high, grabbing the Chitauri soldiers off the side of a skyscraper and flinging them around like rag dolls.

Alex grinned at his enthusiasm, but her smile fell when she noticed a whole squadron of Chitauri heading in their direction. Alex and Natasha exchanged a look, and Natasha nodded.

"Hey, Cap, wanna see a cool party trick?" Alex asked, stepping towards a piece of the armour that had fallen from the giant flying centipede when Stark blew it up.

"Is it something that will help to get rid of that?" He questioned, gesturing towards the approaching foot soldiers.

"Wait and watch, Boss, wait and watch." Alex said, mimicking her words from earlier that day to Fury.

Alex grabbed the long piece of armour, and used the air to levitate it, before she stepped back from it, walking towards Steve and Natasha. Steve watched her with confusion on his face. Alex grinned, before she turned and ran towards it, jumping up on it and creating a wind to push her along.

"Is she surfing? That's what it's called, right?" Steve questioned Natasha, who nodded with a smile on her face.

Alex was over the squadron in a matter of seconds, and she pressed down on her comms link, making sure it was connected to Steve's.

"Captain, my Captain, are you still watching?" She questioned.

"_Yes. What are you doing?_"

"Wait and watch." Alex repeated, as she created a wave of fire behind the Chitauri, with herself on top of it.

Alex whistled, which got the aliens' attention, and then with the help of a gust of wind, she rode the fiery wave back towards Steve and Natasha, who were fighting a few of the aliens who had come at them from the other side, taking out the whole squadron as she did. She put the fire out, and skidded the extra yard back to her original position by Steve's side.

"That was an impressive party trick." Steve commented, as Alex stood, holding the armour up vertically, like a surfer would do with his or her board at the beach, before she dropped it, drew her gun and fired at an alien creeping up behind Natasha.

"It's something I've been practicing," Alex grinned, before she noticed a group of aliens heading towards them. And then she saw some of the aliens on the gliders flying overhead and Alex found herself silently communicating with Natasha again. Natasha followed Alex's gaze and seemed to understand where her thoughts had gone and nodded at her. "Cap, can you handle these guys? Natasha and I can make our way to the portal."

"You sure about this?" Cap questioned, as the two women moved closer together. Alex would fly and drop Natasha onto one of the speeders. She couldn't carry her the entire time, otherwise she'd be defenseless. She needed at least one hand to motion where the fire/air/water/earth had to go to.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun." Natasha replied, just before Alex pushed off the ground and the pair sped upwards into the air.

Alex flew after a couple of the alien speeders, and when she was close enough to the last one, she swung her partner forward and let her go. She made sure that Natasha had landed on the speeder before she flew forward and shot the aliens flying in front of her. She was creating a clear path for Widow, and occasionally helping Iron Man out of a jam.

The Avengers were working together, sometimes pairing off to help each other out, but they were slowly becoming what Coulson had dreamed of and believed in…a team.

"_Hawkeye! Mother Nature!_" Natasha drew her partners' attention via the communications link. Barton stopped taking out the flying Chitauri soldiers and turned to see what Natasha needed. Alex flew around a building, trying to do the same.

"_Nat, what are you doing?_"

_"Uh, a little help?_" Widow requested, as both her partners witnessed Loki in pursuit of her and firing at her.

Alex was fully prepared to take Loki out, but Clint beat her to it.

_"I got him."_

And Alex watched as an arrow whizzed past Natasha, and careened towards Loki…but the trickster caught it. Alex could almost see the sardonic look on his face as he looked back at Barton. Loki thought he had the archer beat, but that was until the arrow exploded and sent the god in a literal shame spiral back towards Stark Tower.

The explosion allowed Natasha to launch herself off of her speeder and onto the roof of Stark's hideous tower (in her opinion). The Black Widow fell into a forward roll to break her fall and skidded to a stop. Alex knew that her friend would have no trouble with handling the situation on the rooftop, so decided to go after Loki.

Yet…something big, green and angry beat her to the punch quite literally. When Alex landed inside Stark Tower, the Hulk was tossing the evil demi-god around like a tiny rag doll, smashing him repeatedly into the solid marble floor of Stark's living room.

Alex just leaned against a wall, and waited for the Hulk to finish with his new plaything. She could barely contain her laughter when Hulk finally dropped Loki in a Loki-shaped crater, and the demi-god let out a tiny kitten-like mewl of pain.

"Puny god." Hulk said, as he walked towards his team mate.

"You did good, Hulk. Go smash something else, preferably the aliens outside. I'll handle things in here." Alex said, patting his arm as she walked past him towards the very pathetic looking Loki, who she suspected wouldn't be able to move for a while yet.

She stood above him, and smirked down at him, before she sat down next to the crater where he was still laying as still as the stone beneath him. He had taken a real beating from the Hulk and his brother and even Stark. And from the look in his eyes, he fully expected another one.

"I'm not going to hit you. I don't kick a man while he's down. Besides, we're going to win this, and when we do, I won't need to hit you. Cause I'm guessing that there's some higher power behind this. You didn't get this army on your own," Alex moved her face a little closer to Loki's, and grinned manically. "And when you lose this war, someone else will kick your ass for me."

She recognised the flash of fear in his eyes all too well. She knew that Loki knew that if he lost this war, lost the Earth, he would get killed. And she pitied him. Despite what he did to Clint, which angered her to the core, and despite what he was doing to her world, she pitied him because she knew what it felt like to be controlled by a higher power that she was afraid of. Alex and Zeus haven't been on speaking terms since 1906, when she fell in love with a mortal. But that story was for another time.

"You're from another world, and Midgard's jurisdictions end here. Thor will take you back to Asgard where you will be punished for your crimes against Midgard and its people. That should be protection enough from whomever you fear," Alex said, straightening up. She looked out at the destruction outside, but noticed something that could be useful. She stared at it a moment before deciding to risk leaving Loki alone to collect it. "This goes without saying, but you are going to stay here, and if you try to run, which I don't think you can with the amount of injuries you've sustained, I will take back what I said, and I will hurt you."

"You called it Midgard and not Earth. You're not from this world either, are you?" Loki croaked, still not moving from his crater.

"No, I'm not, but I have lived here for thousands of years, and this world is my home now. And it is my duty to protect it from all its enemies." She replied as she walked towards Stark's balcony.

"And who gave you this duty?"

"Oh, you might have heard of us in Asgard…we're the Gods and Goddesses of Olympia." Alex smirked back at him, before heading outside.

She rushed over to Loki's scepter, and looked up at the blue beam of light that was creating the portal.

_"I was just about to come down and get that."_ Natasha said into her communications link, causing a smile to break out on the demi-goddess' face.

"Well, I'll bring it to you," Alex grinned, before flying upwards and then lowering herself down onto the roof. She handed Natasha the sceptre, and scrutinised Dr. Selvig to see if he was a threat anymore. Natasha shook her head, knowing where her partner's thoughts were and dismissing them quickly. "I take it you've got this under control, because I'm sure my assistance is needed elsewhere."

"We've got this." Natasha replied, moving towards the place that Dr. Selvig pointed her to.

"Right at the crown." He said, and Alex watched as Natasha moved into position.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can close the portal down." Natasha said, and Alex felt a huge surge of hope in her heart. She had lied to Loki. She hadn't been sure that they could win, but now…now, she was sure.

"_Do it!_" Captain ordered.

"_No, wait._" Stark's voice came out a little breathless through the comms. link.

"_Stark, these things are still coming._" Cap protested, but Tony quickly said something to dissuade further objections.

"_I got a nuke coming in. It's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it._" Stark said, and the hope that had filled Alex was replaced with dread. She knew that the journey Stark was willing to take was a one-way trip…one she couldn't allow him to make.

Zeus had created her to protect Midgard and all intelligent life upon it. Tony Stark was as intelligent as they come. Alex couldn't allow him to sacrifice himself. She launched herself off the building and streamlined the air around her so she would fly faster than she ever had before.

Alex reached Tony just as he started to fly up towards the portal.

"_What are you doing, Cosmos?_" Stark grunted at her, obviously feeling the weight of the nuclear warhead on his back.

"The job I was created for," Alex replied, grabbing hold of the warhead, and then manipulating the air to freeze Stark in place. She gritted her teeth as she forced herself upwards, leaving an angry Iron Man behind her. "To save Midgard and its people."

"_Cosmos, I was going to do that! I needed to do that!_" Tony yelled down the comm. at her.

"You didn't need to prove anything to him, Stark. You already did. You were going to sacrifice yourself to save the Manhattan and the world, but I couldn't let you do that. The world needs Tony Stark, it needs your clean energy project and your inventions and your genius," Alex said, as she got closer to the wormhole. "It doesn't need a 4 or 5,000 year old demi-goddess who almost failed her mission, let her partner get brainwashed and let an Asgardian prince kill well over 80 people within three or four days. Just tell everybody I said goodbye if I don't make it out."

"_Alex, wha_-" Alex heard Clint start to say, but then she flew through the portal into the vast, cold nothing-ness of space.

She had calculated that her super-human body could withstand precisely four minutes on this side of the portal, and she was correct. Her body was quickly shutting down, and using the last of her strength, she sent the nuclear warhead on the path to the giant Chitauri spaceship.

Alex watched as the nuclear exploded, destroying the ship and sending a wave of nuclear radiation towards the rest of the army on that side of the portal. Then she saw thousands of stars and finally felt the cold of space. Alex gasped a breath, and, with visions of the stars in her eyes, closed her eyes for the last time.

Her body fell slowly through the portal, just before it closed, and then began its free-fall back towards the ground.


End file.
